Sentient Weaponry
Sentient weaponry is just that: weaponry that possesses the capability of sentient conscious thought. These weapons are typically extremely rare, preventing much data from being gathered about them or their methods of creation. While Wings has experimented with methods for reliably crafting such weaponry, it is far easier to simply build a weapon containing an internal computing and nervous system, then install a "smart" AI. However, despite their rarity, several such weapons do, in fact, exist in HU, such as Clycko's .45 pistol, or Elexion's Ancient-made sword, Honor. Historical artifacts, as well as the personal testimony of Camolot the Creator, indicate that the Ancients had actually developed reliable and workable methods for hammering out weapons with intrinsic personalities, though the technology for mass-producing such weapons was still in the trial stages, and only one prototype for a factory was ever created. According to records from the incredibly spotty databases of the Ancients, as well as files from the Alliance archaeological database, the prototype was recorded as "Lost in Space", and subsequentially was considered irretrievable. Historical Information The idea of creating sentient weaponry was first proposed by an Ancient scientist circa BOCY 1565, whose name has been lost to time and the decay of Ancient computing and data storage systems. They put forward the idea that a sentient intelligence could be placed, or encouraged to coalesce, in inanimate objects by infusing them with certain types of power and radiation. Certain pieces of these papers refer to schematics for a full production facility, but no such designs have been discovered to date. From there, the idea evolved among small groups of researchers with abilities similar to the abilities of modern HU soldiers, who experimented with the process of installing these consciousnesses. Despite resources and time dedicated to these experiments, Ancient researchers were unable to provide reliable success rates, though some entries hint at Elexion's sword, Honor, as being a successful prototype produced by an experimental process: however, this process is not mentioned elsewhere. However, one account recently recovered from the ruins of what was apparently a highly classified Ancient research facility recounts the development and construction of a ship factory, apparently commissioned for the Second Galactic War, and was in production from BOCY 1418 to BOCY 1403, anointed the Kinclad in BOCY 1402. Extrapolating from design fragments and equipment records, HU archaeologists have estimated the Kinclad to have been at least of VPK, if not Planet Killer class, and it even seems to have been deployed at some point during the war. The vessel is recorded in the Ancient database as Lost in Space, approximately BOCY 1400-1395, though the dates are not clear. After the Second Galactic War necessitated the Ancients increase their armaments and defensive capabilities, they turned to the sentient weapons program, which had lain dormant since the lost of the Kinclad. Experiments with existing sentient weapons had shown that they tended to extend the awareness and abilities of the user as long as the intelligence was active, even giving mental clarity in the worst of conditions, giving severe tactical advantages to foot soldiers in the field. However, after the loss of the Kinclad, there were few remaining scientists that were experienced in this area, and the project disappears from the records. In BOCY 940, during the Third Galactic War, T'alterian scientists brought the idea back into the eye of both powers, stating that the difference of three hundred years might change the results of such experiments. This new bout of experimentation lasted from it's official commission in BOCY 939 to the end of the Third Galactic War in BOCY 936, a total of only three years. No real progress was made in the area during the war, and with the research no longer relevant, the joint T'alterian and Ancient research team was disbanded and the project was shelved. in BOCY 882, an Ancient colony, as well as the Ancient spacecraft Alaran disappear from space; according to records retrieved in OCY 523, this disappearance may have had something to do with a closed experiment into creating sentient weapons, though this was never confirmed and no substantial evidence has been found as of yet. With the disappearance of the 11 Clans in BOCY 808, the last successful sentient prototypes went with them, vanishing into myth and legend, and the sentient weapons project disappeared as well. The idea resurfaced in BOCY 580, accompanying the desperate need for new weaponry to use in the Empire Wars. The Alliance discovered manuscripts and data in Ancient outposts and research stations that hinted at surviving experiments that were successful, though lost. A wide search was launched to find these artifacts, but all researchers found were hints of the prototypes being carried with the 11 Clans when they disappeared into hiding on one of the preflight planets. In a desperate bid to discover a method of ending the war, the Alliance launched multiple scouting missions into unexplored space, searching for this lost power, a search that was unsuccessful until BOCY 536, when a small Alliance craft crash-landed on a small preflight world orbiting a G-class star. This Alliance fighter-class ship discovered an immortal armed with the only known prototype of Ancient sentient weapon technology, which spoke only to him. This immortal, Elexion, was inducted into the Alliance military in order to both bolster their forces against the Empire onslaught and give their researchers and scientists easier access to the sword. Unfortunately, Honor could not provide them with the method of it's creation, though the study of the sword introduced some idea of how the process might be accomplished, though it might take time to do. However, with the fall of the Empire in BOCY 529, new weapons were no longer necessary, resulting in the sentient weapons project being shunted to the side in favor of research into technology that allowed ships, equipment and people to cross interuniversal barriers and travel throughout the multiverse, which was easier to access and explore than the Andromeda galaxy. The idea of sentient weaponry was then abandoned for the next one thousand years, until the idea resurfaced in OCY 513 in conjuncture with the SPIA project; this time, the idea survived it's catalyst, and even created successful prototypes. As of OCY 536, nine functional prototypes have been created, as well as many as twenty non-functional, and the method has been significantly streamlined. Most recently, and most troubling, Camolot the Creator and Jesse Knight have discovered evidence of factions outside of HU manufacturing swords of this caliber, though their investigation into this matter remains incomplete.